La Chica is a French/Venezuelan singer, songwriter, and pianist who makes dazzling art-pop that feels like a living, breathing being. Today, she’s released one of these musical creatures, “La Loba”, which perfectly encapsulates the spine-tingling beauty of her work.
The new song uses a combination of eerie piano and tense hand claps to create a mood that brings to mind Fiona Apple’s manic Fetch The Bolt Cutters and FKA twigs’ ghostly Magdalene. Most of the track is delivered in tongue-trilling Spanish, but the menacing phrase “I pick up the bones” come through in deadpanned English for pointed emphasis.
Its accompanying video is similarly captivating, featuring shots of La Chica coated in blood while screaming, striking poses next to wolves, and lounging back in a chair to puff on a cigar. It’s pretty fuckin’ wild stuff. Check it out below.
In a press release, La Chica explained that “La Loba” is a musical interpretation of the Mexican folklore of the same name. She first read the tale in a book called Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by the feminist writer Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and it had a big impact on how she considered her womanhood.
“This is a song for my women out here,” she said. “Inspired by the legend of La Loba, it’s a story about recreating life and rekindling a woman’s spirit, fighting against patriarchal forces. We are powerful. Let’s stay connected to our wild nature. The witches’ awakening is real. In this video I am La Loba, I’m the witch, but I’m also the essence of women.”
For more of La Chica’s witchery, “La Loba” is expected to appear on a larger seven-song project of the same name, due out January 29th. Peep the artwork ahead and then revisit previous singles “Venezuela” and “Drink”.
La Loba Artwork:
